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Victorians urged to cut power use this afternoon

Victorians have been urged by the Australian Energy Market Operator to lower electricity usage on Friday the 31st of January during the afternoon to avoid forced blackouts.

They have stated “AEMO is requesting consumers in Victoria reduce their energy usage between approximately 1 pm and 8 pm, to help minimise the potential for electricity supply disruptions this afternoon”, due to high temperatures combined with high humidity.

“While there are currently sufficient electricity reserves to manage the peak electricity demand today, this situation could change,” AEMO also said. Along with this, their forecasts have Victoria reaching its highest electricity demand since 2014, and electricity market analyst Paul McArdle has noted the peak demand for the National Electricity Market is anticipated to be only 500 MW short of a record at 5 pm.

These announcements come as Victoria and South Australia narrowly avoided rolling blackouts on Thursday evening, where there were sweltering temperatures and wholesale electricity prices were at near maximum levels of $14,700 a megawatt-hour.